Browsing by Subject "Freedom of information"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5

Dimensions of press control : a factor analytic study of national characteristics and press systems of the world
(1976) Choo, Kwang Yung, 1940-; Not available
The influence of progressive reform on the American library : shifting attitudes toward freedom of information
(2011-08) Ferguson, Gregory Lee; Immroth, Barbara Froling; Lukenbill, Bernard W.
The foundations of American progressivism were established in the 19th century and were heavily influenced by the emergence of Marxism, immigration, feminism and organized labor movements. These issues were and continue to be influential in American society. The American public library system developed within this context, and its values and goals were influenced by these ideologies. The role of the library was initially conceived to be that of a provider of enlightenment for the underprivileged. The goal was to lift up the common people and help them to become productive citizens of society. But this assistance can also be seen as a form of social control. The selection of materials for a specific purpose is tantamount to censorship. As a consequence, the library’s initial role of censor shifted toward a more user-focused system. Librarians were no longer gatekeepers and censors of information, but rather facilitators of the individual reader. The ALA endorsed and promoted projects that reflect this progressive shift. Consequences of the ALA’s shift toward progressivism include encouragement of radical social changes and changes in the educational system which began to encourage children to question dominant historical narratives. This paper examines the American public library’s relationship to a free society, and the role of the librarian in the public realm.
Information policies and the right to know : declassifying Dirty War evidence in Mexico's national archive
(2022-05-16) Núñez, Janette; Del Castillo, Lina
For many years, archives were regarded as objective portals to the past. A repository for rare documents waiting to be discovered and pieced together. However, with the archival turn in the late 20th century, this notion began to shift. As a result of Jacques Derrida (1996) and Michel Foucault’s (1972) contributions, the archive was elevated from a repository of objects to an object in and of itself. No longer seen as a neutral space, scholars and archivists began to redefine the role of archives. By the early twenty-first century, Carolyn Steedman (2002), Achille Mbembe (2002), Arlette Farge (2013), and Ann Stoler (2009) reconsidered how archives structure historical narratives, as well as their capacity to create and legitimize narratives. During this same time, with the end of the Cold War, archivists around the world were recasting archives as tools for society to hold governments accountable and prescribing what constitutes a well-managed archive. While these two fields of study have advanced archival studies and transformed how archives are read, few scholars have examined the policies that govern the opening, or closing, of archives. By doing so, I argue, we can better understand the role of archives in society and politics. This study offers an examination of the information policies that guarantee, or deny, the right to publicly held archival information in Mexico. By bridging these two fields of study, this case study contributes to the archival turn debate by tracing information policies and demonstrating how policies influence how people interact with archives using Mexico's Freedom of Information law.
Organizational secrecy : an investigation of hidden realities
(1975) Rigney, Daniel, 1949-; Not available
The surrender of secrecy : explaining the emergence of strong access to information laws in Latin America
(2010-05) Michener, Robert Gregory; Madrid, Raúl L.; Alves, Rosental C.; Brinks, Daniel; Greene, Kenneth F.; Weyland, Kurt G.; Edwards, David V.
Worldwide, the remarkable diffusion of transparency and access to information laws poses a monumental challenge to the state’s most enduringly undemocratic feature— excessive secrecy. Will recent laws lead to an effective surrender of secrecy? The incipient literature on transparency reform says little about the strength of current legislation or how strong laws emerge. This dissertation addresses these theoretical and empirical gaps. First, it articulates a theory on the political determinants of strong access to information laws. Second, employing an original evaluation, it scores the strength of twelve access to information laws advanced throughout Latin America between 2002 and 2010. Two extreme outcomes are examined in detail: a failed comprehensive reform in Argentina (1999-2005), which resulted in a limited presidential decree (2003), and the adoption of a seminal law in Mexico (2002). These cases are then compared with others across Latin America with special attention placed on Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and Uruguay. I find considerable variance in the strength of the region’s laws: the average score is “moderately strong,” while the median and mode scores are “moderately weak.” Evidence shows that while civic coalitions and external pressure often help drive reform, they cannot explain observed variation in legal strength. Rather, I find that laws emerge more robust and earlier-on within the electoral cycle (within the first half of a president’s term of office), in countries where 1) presidents lack control over the legislature and 2) news media coverage of access to information laws is strong. By contrast, where news media coverage is weak and presidents possess strong negative agenda setting powers (partisan majorities or constitutional means of denying a vote), I find that laws tend to emerge later-on during the electoral cycle (within the last third), and are considerably weaker. I also find that press advocacy for access to information laws tended to be greater in countries where presidents were weaker and news media ownership concentration was low. The dissertation addresses key institutional preconditions for good governance and transparency reform. More specifically, it speaks to the determinants and power of the news media as an agent of democratic advancement (and stagnation), and the importance of weak leaders and partisan competition in promoting good governance reform.